The Point of No Return
by The Tantalus Complex
Summary: Artemis and Holly overcome their problems, just as Opal makes her final stand, beyond the point of no return...
1. You have come here

**Disclaimer: I do not own Artemis Fowl, Eoin Colfer does, if you need to hear more, then what else can I tell you??**

Holly hadn't been to the surface for 4 months now, and the need to complete the ritual brought joy to her. She had missed the earth and its inhabitants calling out to her as she flew by, the beauty of nature as the moon hit it at the right angle, the sweet air. It was also when she got to see Artemis, her best friend on earth, whether it be above the surface or below it. She talked to him at least three times a week, and without those calls, she started having problems, like no one to talk to, for instance. But phone calls weren't enough; she had to see him soon. So when her commanding officer suggested she do the ritual, she jumped at the chance.

So here she was, flying throughout Ireland, making her way to the first spot she had encountered Artemis Fowl. As she landed, she couldn't stop herself from glancing at the spot where Artemis and Butler hid to tranquilize her the first time. Nothing unusual was there, of course there wouldn't be. As she filled up with magic after the ritual, she made her way toward Fowl manor. Right before she got there, she made a plan and decided to scare Artemis by entering and sneaking up on him (no originality, so what?). She made it to his window, no problem. After checking the room was empty, she quietly opened the window and crept inside, grateful that Number 1 had removed the Magical Gaesa (Spelling?) that normally would be making her sick right now.

Avoiding Butler and the twins rooms who would be the most prone to any noise made, she got to Artemis' room and entered without a sound. Looking around for him, she saw him in his bed. Oh well, there would be no point in waking him up, she could come back some other time. As she made her way to leave, Artemis mumbled in his sleep, "No…stop, please…don't…"

After overcoming the initial racing of her heart that she normally gets when she is surprised, Holly crept over to his bed again and studied his features. His forehead was creased with premature wrinkles, he was sweating and moaning, and he looked really uncomfortable. Deciding that she wanted to know what was bothering him; she put her forehead to his softly and delicately probed his mind to see what was bothering him. Telepathy magic wasn't really her thing, but being connected to his consciousness in the time tunnels made it a lot easier than most other peoples minds would be. What she saw frightened her and made her feel really sad for the mud boy in front of her, her best friend. His torture was far worse than she could imagine….

Artemis was having one of the worst nightmares he had ever had. It was the third time this week and it was deeply troubling him. It went something like this:

Artemis was in an empty field that reminded him of the field Dante had described in the beginning of the Divine Comedy. As he started moving forward, he fell into a pit, filled with hundreds of people who were all deformed and angry and glaring at him. One man was mad enough to come up close to him and point a finger of judgment at him saying, "You! You did this to me!"

Artemis was looking closely at him, and it disturbed him. He had no eyes, just empty sockets, his ears were cut and torn in several places, he had no clothes on, and his head was on fire. His hands were bone, and several pestilential creatures of hell were gnawing on his chest. As Artemis tried to stammer an apology, someone grabbed him by the shoulders and turned him to face them. This person's anguish that he caused was far worse than anyone else's, and it still haunted him.

Holly Short was there, looking fine, excluding the fact that she had hatred, disgust, and murder in her eyes as she stared at him.

"How could you Artemis Fowl?? You kidnap me, you cut off my finger, and you nearly lose me my job, my life, and my magic. Even after I befriended you, you still deceived me regularly. Even when I gave you my trust, you betrayed it. You betrayed me Artemis; and for that, I hate you. I wish I never met you, you're just another stupid human who deserves to die."

As Holly watched, pain and sadness filled her heart as she saw that Artemis had nothing to say and hung his head in shame and sadness. What she saw next disturbed her even more. Dream Holly took out a knife, and drove it through his ribs. Artemis saw it coming, but he didn't try to stop it. The only conclusion Holly could draw from this was…he thought he deserved to die. That hurt her, he thought he was despicable, and his self hatred was so much that she decided right then to fix any problems of his she could to help him.

As Artemis woke up crying and sad, the last thing he expected was Holly Shorts face close to his, her forehead touching his. He flinched and tried to move back. As Holly pulled her head from his, she saw just how much pain he was in because of what he did.

Meanwhile, Artemis was trying to figure out why her head was that close to his when he was sleeping. Then he pieced it together, she was watching his dream, his nightmare, his secret fear and shame. Shame faced, he hung his head, unwilling to meet her eyes. So what she did next surprised him a lot. Holly came forward, hugged him tightly, kissed his cheek, and rocked him back and forth…almost like a lover. She then whispered in his ear, "I forgive you Artemis, for whatever you might have done to me. Everything."

Artemis felt a great weight lift from his shoulders, he felt soothed and relaxed, and he hugged her back. Mumbling from her shoulder, he whispered, "Everything?"

"Everything," Holly reassured. He broke the hug, and looked into her eyes, showing his gratitude. But knowing Artemis for years, she saw deep behind that, the dream still haunted him. She knew the one way to fix that. Reaching up slowly, she took his head and pulled it down to hers. Before he could react, she kissed him lightly and softly, putting her forgiveness in her lips. Artemis kissed her back, savoring it, hoping it wouldn't be his last. As they broke apart a while later, both were panting.

Artemis found that he couldn't even remember his dream. Putting his forehead on hers, he whispered, "Thank you Holly."

Holly punched him playfully on the shoulder. Artemis was back, no longer depressed and unhappy. "Anytime," she replied.

Artemis smirked, "Anytime?" he questioned.

His words implications hit her and she blushed. Kissing him again had felt great, euphoric, uplifting. There were no laws on inter-species relationships, age was no problem with the Fountain of Youth down in Haven, he would gain a fairy life span, and height could easily be fixed by Foaly's new Genetic Displacement Machine, which could give a Fairy the appearance of a human completely, and vice versa. She had never dated before, but Artemis was clearly asking her out. Might as well give it a try.

Holly kissed him again lightly and drew back, "Sure," she responded with a smile.

Suddenly Artemis yawned; and as everyone knows…yawns are infectious. Holly herself felt exhausted, she got up too early today. Artemis pulled back the duvet and invited her in. Gratefully accepting, she climbed in next to him and used his chest as a pillow. As she felt herself drifting off, she whispered softly, "Good night Artemis."

"Good night Holly."

The pair fell asleep and was comfortable for several hours until Butler and Mrs. Fowl came in to wake up Artemis and inform him that Minerva was on the phone. Butler, as soon as he saw the elf nestled in his master's arms, hit the end call button, while Mrs. Fowl gaped at Holly, seeing her for the first time. She looked exactly as she thought she would, what with Artemis' many descriptions of her, it hadn't been hard. She smiled; she would wake them up later and do her job as a mother to embarrass them both as much as possible.

Foaly, meanwhile, had just arrived at Police Plaza, wondering where Holly was. She wasn't at her desk, she hadn't called in sick, and she hadn't signed back in from doing the ritual. Foaly immediately assumed where she was and pulled up one of his few remaining cameras that hadn't been found by Artemis and Butler at Fowl Manor after his Mindwipe. He stared down in shock, not believing what he was seeing. Oh well, it wasn't illegal after all, but he never expected her to go to Fowl. Seriously, all the recon jocks tried to get her on a date, and she turned all of them down. Trouble, Chix, Grub, and lots more. Foaly took a picture and saved it, a little blackmail was always handy to have on hand…

**Good? Bad? Review, please, because I hate it when tons of people all read a story and almost no one reviews. No opinions, Nada. I need to know what people think so that I can make my writing more intriguing and acceptable. So do me a favor. Whether your (Under Demetra's classifications) just someone who dies for AH and doesn't give a shit whether it is good or bad, a constructive criticism, or a flamer, that's great, but along with your review, tell me what you liked about my writing and what you didn't, ok? Not too hard, right? REVIEW!!!**

**This broadcast has been brought to you by Logan1047 and his muse. By the way, sorry if it sounds clichéd a lot, but sometimes avoiding them can be incredibly difficult.**


	2. I have brought you

**Disclaimer: I don't own Artemis Fowl; he is Eoin Colfer's. **

As Artemis woke up from his blessed landscape of undaunted dreams, he felt happier than normal. He couldn't explain it, he just felt like smiling until the urge became too much and he let a small grin slip through his façade. As he contemplated his strange, hormonal emotions and was about to blame it on puberty, he felt a warm pair of arms wrap around his waist and pull him closer to them. He stiffened, and then all of last night's memories came back in a torrent of information.

He turned over to see Holly Short, still asleep, cuddling to him unconsciously. First his face turned red in embarrassment, and then he steeled his nerves and cuddled her back until she woke up. As she stirred, he kissed her neck, a long, slow passionate kiss where he savored every second of contact with her.

Holly had never remembered when she ever woke up feeling so happy. It was a Saturday, so there was no work. Was it because she could sleep in today? Was it her birthday? Then she felt someone cuddling her to them. As last night came back to her, she decided to enjoy his arms around her a little longer and feign sleep. After a while, the urge to move had become to great and she pretended to wake up. She blushed when he kissed her neck softly and tenderly, in such passion that she unconsciously felt her nipples harden.

Utterly shocked by this recent display of affection, Foaly the centaur was mentally questioning how much sim-wine he had to drink last night. Deciding he was not drunk, he recorded a small section and sent it to Caballine. Frond help her, she was obsessed with Holly finding a man, and now that she found one, Holly would stop hitting him in retaliation for Caballine's annoying inquiries about her love life.

At least he hoped. Foaly then decided that now was a good time to make his presence known. Being a genius, he naturally knew a way that would scare them so much that his amusement would replace the need for coffee. Picking up an old voice command of late Commander Root, Foaly put the recording on speakers throughout Artemis' bedroom on volume loud enough to seem like he was actually in the room shouting at them. As Foaly pushed the button that would activate the recording, he couldn't help but grin. This would make not only his day, but the entire week.

Artemis and Holly had just made it to each others lips when a loud, familiar voice broke their love making in the early morning sunrise and shocked them beyond belief.

"Captain Short!! What the D'arvit are you doing?"

Immediately, the new couple sprang apart, and while Artemis was embarrassed beyond belief, Holly, out of instinct, snapped to attention and looked for her late commanding officer. It took her a moment to remember the painful subject of his death and tie his voice to the only donkey below earth that would actually do something like this. As Artemis realized what happened around the same moment, both looked at the hidden camera in Artemis' room and yelled, "Foaly!!"

Butler just then decided to make his presence known. "Artemis, Captain Short. If you two happen to be done molesting each other, you might be pleased to know that breakfast is ready."

Both turned shades of crimson rarely seen on the average person as denials sprung from their gaping lips. Butler chuckled and simply took a camera from a hidden spot, took out the memory disk, and moved toward the door. Before he got their, both of the other rooms occupants blocked the door.

"You're not leaving until we have that disk," Holly growled.

"If my mother finds that content, I will make your life hell, old friend or not," Artemis seconded.

As Butler knew they were both serious and that he could handle them with one hand tied behind his back, the angry duo both threatening him couldn't stop him from having an cold shudder run down his spine. These were not people you wanted to get on the wrong side of. Butler took the easy way out.

"I wasn't going to show it to your mother," he paused as both figures relaxed their tense bodies, "she already knows and saw you sleeping together."

As both of them grew horrified expressions on their face, he chose now to be the best time to drop his ace on them while they couldn't comprehend anything at the moment. "I was going to email it to Minerva."

He then left the room as fast as he possibly could. They would both suddenly understand the situation and he didn't want to be near them when that happened.

_5…4…3…2…1…_

Outraged roars shook the hall as Artemis Fowl and Holly Short raged out of the room, charging at the manservant who ran to the one source of protection he knew would work…Artemis' mom.

He finally made it to the kitchen with the two enraged partners hot on his heels. Out of breath, he hid behind his mistress, praying she would distract the pair long enough to let him sneak to the computer.

Artemis stopped charging as soon as he saw his mother and grinned sheepishly. Holly moved two steps forward and turned when she saw that Artemis was no longer chasing. She took one glance at his eyes, that sheepish grin, and slowly turned in the direction he was smiling innocently toward, his mom.

Angeline Fowl smiled when she saw Holly. She was beautiful and just perfect for her Arty. She bent down to be eye level with her and held out her hand. "Hello Captain Short, I am Angeline Fowl, Artemis' mom."

Holly shifted gears and put a charming smile on her face. "It's a pleasure to meet you Mrs. Fowl; Arty has told me so much about you."

Angeline took a step back and feigned examination. "I have to say, you're just as beautiful as Artemis said you were." This statement had the desired affect; both people turned crimson and avoided looking at each other in embarrassment.

Artemis was afraid of Holly's reaction when she heard how he talked of her, while Holly was in actuality completely amazed that Artemis had thought she was beautiful. She thought she looked average, what with her scars and her short hair cut.

Angeline saw tension and let it sit for a few seconds before she changed the subject. "Minerva called this morning; she wanted to ask if it was alright if she came over for the weekend. I told her ok, is that fine with you?"

Before they could answer, Holly's communicator rang. With a quick excuse, she left the room to answer it with Artemis behind her. Trouble was on the line; he didn't look happy. "Holly, Artemis, are you guys there? We have bad news. Minerva Paradizo's body was found yesterday, she had been dead for three days."

Looks of horror grew steadily on their faces; it was a huge blow against them. Suddenly Artemis remembered something said to him by his mother just recently.

"Holly!" he yelled, grabbing her by the shoulders and looking into her eyes with panic.

"What?" she asked; frightened. If Artemis was unnerved, it was a bad sign.

"Holly, Minerva was dead three days ago, so how did my mother get a call from her _today!!_"

Trouble, who was still on the line, went pale and called for Retrieval One, Fowl manor would once more be a battleground today. This scheme practically all but written the words Opal Koboi all over it, no one else had her audacity and cunning. But something was different, something wasn't right. There was an air of unease as Holly, Trouble, Angeline and Butler (the latter two who had recently entered the room and learned the situation) all saw Artemis' confused face. He saw them exchange scared glances and decided to introduce the problems.

"This isn't right, why would Opal attack here and give us all the hints that she was coming? She is not that arrogant, she knows we have the power of the LEP on our side. So why would she…" Realization struck him in the face. "D'arvit!" he shouted, "Distraction, it's a distraction, she is using this opportunity to get her future self out of jail."

Trouble, being the excellent field officer that he is, attempted to get a line to the council, Foaly, and the council. Before he could even touch the intercom button, LEP head quarters had a black out. The only possible way that could happen is if the entire block had lost power. Opals plan seemed clear to him then and it horrified him. The council building was on the same block as them, and with no power, emergency situations began, quickly locking them in the building without entrance to them under any circumstance until the power came back and Foaly opened the doors.

Foaly, under loss of power, activated his generator and was back online, except lacking security systems, which perfectly fit Opals plans to hack the Operations Booth. Taking control of the Booth, Foaly was knocked out by the plasma tiles before he could boot her out, and she used the opportunity to lighten the LEP guard on her future self, remove electricity from the prison, and issue an evacuation order which would send all inmates to Howlers peak. Fortunately for her, Howlers Peak was much easier to break into than Atlantis. Unfortunately for the rest of the world, now their were two Opal Koboi's trying to rule it, and that could only mean disaster.


End file.
